#hollie may songwriter

[officialndilhmx1]

Edgy On Film 🎥

A biography Series about Hollie May song-writer from Midlands in the UK Hollie May was featured on Channel 5, "Making Faces" television programme for her Facial Disfigurement. Being remembered as the most positive person on the the British TV Programme, which shared Facial Stories from all kinds of walks of life. Edgy On Film is a Series that's all about Hollie May highlighting all parts of her life, from positive to negative from painful to emotional to beautiful to fantastic.

During Covid from year 2020 all the way to 2023 Hollie May was busy behind the scenes with her Music figuring out how to share her story, tell her story online -do it the correct way. After Releasing her first Three Debut Singles that changed her life from "Pills And Alcohol" to "The Beauty, That's Around Me" also "Left My Name" Hollie May decided to turn the chapter in her life for the better. Slowly becoming sober saying her goodbyes to clubbing life turning her life around chasing her dreams committing to it! Which was a massive change in her life being off camera for a long time she decided to focus on Edgy On Film this Series would be the first giant move. To tell her story from old/new photographs also video footage from certain times in her life producing each unique chapter, telling the stories from all different times in life.

It's a very eclectic piece of production with interesting storylines that make Hollie May the real strong song-writer she is today. ✨

These are just a few highlights from the Series that you'll be expecting to watch.

Hollie May's Appearance

To the story about her appearance how she's had 14 operations on her face from losing her right eye from being only age 4, if she didn't have these operations she wouldn't be alive today. Normalising being Facially Disfigured making it okay for everybody else that it is okay to inspire others to embrace what makes them facially different. You are not alone or on your own! That's who I am & what I'm about as an Artist of today. ⚡

Self Discovery / Education

Self discovering with friends during school/college/secondary school growing into a writer who found inspiration pretty much everywhere, found her way through everything in life during the most toughest times in her life always found a positive way-out through the darkness.

Self Expression / Portraitier

Expressing herself through her very own original self portraits through artwork on canvas - Also through Portrait Photography. Understanding your own difference learning to own it without a care! Being beautiful being bold always being true to yourself inspiring young/old men & women all walks of life to do the same.

Modelling / Infront Of Camera Lens

Becoming a young Model at the age of just 18 posing in lots of safety pins, vintage leather jackets, black pvc wearing thick make-up. Standing out from the crowd making loads of friends being invited to parties standing out never fitting in with anyone. Reinventing herself into an edgy persona kept everything as original as possible moulding herself into a powerful young woman. Zero fucks given! Bad mouth attitude with loud heavy fashion splash of rock and soul 🧷

Lap-Dancing / Writing / Owning Who You Are

Writing-songs in Strip Clubs to dancing around the Pole becoming regonised as the most different lap dancer there was, in Northamptons Strip club back in 2016/2017. Slowly in time Hollie May became extremely remembered for singing to her customers with a rare acapella if she loved you! Following along lots of flirting and money making. Hollie would dance on stage to Artists like Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, Joan As Police Woman, James Brown, Isley Brothers many more punk rock & funk musician icons. These Artists moulded Hollie May her Lyrical work into something more meaningful special; beautiful as she would write her songs in the dressing room. Whilst either being high as hell from smoking weed and sniffing the Coco whilst dealing with other dancers who would constantly criticise Hollie May by her appearance, style & fashion sense to even trying to get under her skin for a fight creating constant conflict. Of course! Hollie doesn't give in that easily with her ambitious self focusing on the writing & dancing. This experience took Hollie further in life when it came to the stage self confidence owning everything of her own.

Joan As Police Woman How She Changed My Entire Life 🩷

Meeting Joan As Police Woman changed Hollie's life as a little girl who was going through transitioning from Primary School to Secondary, whilst battling so much Bullying back in 2006-2007 further on over the years. Joan has continuously pushed Hollie May into a big positive direction in her life which is where she is today. "I am always grateful for Joan being in my life I love her so much! Joan's Music means the world to me I'm not who I am without her Music. Joan has always been a gorgeous heartwarming best friend the love I have for her is so real extremely conditional I am not myself, without her." Words from Hollie May. Normalising being close friends with somebody who is famous & sharing stories also telling friends/new fans that their feelings matter, it's okay. Making it a normal thing to the ones who don't understand were all human right?

Ronnie Spector from The Ronettes🖤

Ronnie Spector came into my life near the very end of Covid I got very lucky & became a good friend of Ronnie's for a short amount of time, which changed my life as a song-writer. This is something that makes my heart thunder & gets me emotional yet going heads on when it comes down to being lyrical. We spoke about life, music, getting to know one another we flirted as we laughed! And I adored all of it I'll never take any of it for granted the memories I'll cherish forever. Spector also helped me / pushed me to write my first ever album straight after covid ended which was a real dream come true. Sharing the story how our friendship came about was really life changing for me as a young woman, artist, song-writer. A lover of soul music that kept me humble focused on where I am heading with the music of my own.

Writing-Songs On Canal Boat

Whilst being heavily in love with an older woman who was actually domestic, controlling, mean. The songs that came out from that time really took all of my lyrical work into a deep closed dark place looking back I am lucky I survived such a horrible time in my life. A woman who never really loved me at all who was envy over all of my self confidence, beauty so much more. Drinking cans smoking in thick weed falling in love with such heavy self destruction & so much manipulation. Letting go of all of this finding a brand new life ahead of me. Heading into a much better place for yourself 🩵

The Final of Edgy On Film 📹

End Of The Era; visiting Southwold Beach saying goodbyes to a chapter in my life that hasn't just got me here it's brought me to a much better place, reflecting on life how far I have overcome stayed focused never quit the hustle. Staying positive through the good & bad realising self worth to self value. Making better decisions whilst evolving also blossoming becoming a better woman.. it's been a real journey this colourful unique life I have lived, inspired fans from all over will just be the beauty of it 🌸

End Of Edgy On Film 🎥

This production has taught me so much over the last three years when creating it together, piece by piece of footage to photographs of parts of my life. This is my story of who I am how there is so much more to me than just my appearance and body confidence expressing myself. Everything I am to who I am becoming today it's beautiful isn't when you show who you are, how far you've came to why people look up to you in many ways as they love your music. Everything that comes from you - I'm lucky, I am grateful and blessed to be so open with all these stories of parts of my life 🎬

[Edgy On Film is Produced & Directed by Hollie May 2020-2023]

[scotianostra]

On July 17th 2009 the singer/songwriter Gordon Waller and one half of the duo Peter & Gordon passed away.

Waller, the son of a surgeon, was born in Braemar, and went to Westminster school, in London, where he met Peter Asher in 1959. Asher was already something of a jazz and blues fan, but Waller persuaded him to broaden his horizons to include pop and rock'n'roll. Both were keen guitarists and soon they were entertaining their fellow students. By 1963, they were playing (initially as Gordon and Peter) in pubs and small clubs at lunchtimes and evenings for small fees or for a meal, often singing their own compositions in the close harmony style of the Everly Brothers. Early in 1964, they were booked for a two-week engagement at the Pickwick nightclub. One of the diners was Norman Newell, an EMI record producer. Newell was charmed enough by Peter and Gordon's rendition of their song If I Were You to offer them a recording contract.

At this time, McCartney was dating Jane, and Peter and Gordon badgered McCartney to provide them with a song. He obliged with A World Without Love, which he had written six years earlier in Liverpool. McCartney told his biographer Barry Miles: "Gordon was a lot of fun – he was slightly less academic than Peter. It was he who persuaded Peter to jump school to do lunchtime sessions."

By the end of March 1964, A World Without Love had displaced the Beatles' own Can't Buy Me Love at the top of the charts. In May, just before Waller's 19th birthday and Asher's 20th, it was the biggest selling record in the US. The instant stardom created by A World Without Love was the beginning of two years of frantic activity for Peter and Gordon.

For the American media, they combined the cachet of a Beatles connection (McCartney wrote several more of their hits and fans discerned in Waller a slight resemblance to John Lennon) There were numerous television appearances, occasional tours of Japan and Australia as well as North America and dozens of recordings. In the next 12 months, Nobody I Know and I Don't Want to See You Again (both by McCartney) were transatlantic hits, as were I Go To Pieces, written by Del Shannon, and True Love Ways, a Buddy Holly song the duo had performed in their early days in London.

By now, Peter and Gordon were competing in North America with numerous other British imports, including another middle-class duo, Chad and Jeremy. Their star began to wane in 1966, when their only hits were Woman, another McCartney composition credited pseudonymously to "Bernard Webb", and Lady Godiva, a novelty number that was denounced as obscene by the mayor of Coventry, which helped it reach the Top 20 in Britain and the American Top 10. By 1967, Peter and Gordon's British career was over and in America they were reduced to peddling olde English material such as the minor hit The Knight in Rusty Armour and the album Sunday for Tea. They split up the next year, with Asher joining the Beatles' Apple project as an A&R man and Waller launching a career as a solo singer.

Despite the fact that he had been the stronger vocalist of the pair, this career was stillborn. A handful of singles were issued, plus a 1970 album of his own compositions called Gordon. He left showbusiness to run a landscape gardening business in Northamptonshire until, in 1971, he took the part of Pharaoh in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

In the 1980s and 90s Waller ran a music publishing business in America. In the last few years of his life, he reunited with Asher to play a few shows in Los Angeles, the Philippines and New York

[hooked-on-elvis]

"You Asked Me To" (1973/1975)

"You Asked Me To" is a song written by the country singers Waylon Jennings and Billy Joe Shaver. Jennings first released the song in June 1973 on his album Honky Tonk Heroes, and the song spent fifteen weeks on the Billboard country singles charts. Elvis recorded the song on December 11, 1973 at Stax Records studios in Memphis, Tennessee, but it was only released during Elvis's 40th birthday (January 8, 1975) in the album Promised Land. The delay paid off. The country album peaked #1 on the Billboard's Top Country LPs chart, as well as the Cashbox Country albums chart.

THE MUSICIANS ON THIS TRACK: Guitar: James Burton, Johnny Christopher, Charlie Hodge. Bass: Norbert Putnam. Drums: Ronnie Tutt. Piano & Organ: David Briggs, Per-Erik Hallin. Vocals: Kathy Westmoreland, Mary (Jeannie) Greene, Mary Holladay, Susan Pilkington, Voice, J.D. Sumner & The Stamps. OVERDUBS — Guitar: Dennis Linde, Alan Rush. Percussion: Rob Galbraith. Piano: Bobby Ogdin. Organ: Randy Cullers. Vocals: Ginger Holladay, Mary Holladay, Mary Cain.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE RECORDING MOMENT FOR THIS SONG IN 1973:

Studio Sessions for RCA, December 10–16, 1973: Stax Studios, Memphis The night began with "You Ask Me To", a Waylon Jennings song that had been one of several recent hits for the Texas singer-songwriter. As a teenager Jennings had watched the young Hillbilly Cat perform in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, and he (like Buddy Holly, also from Lubbock) was impressed with what he saw. Now Elvis was following Jennings’s recording closely, and completed a lively take on the second try. For once, though, Elvis was satisfied before Felton [Jarvis]; the producer wanted to get something more from his singer, but when the hopped-up Elvis messed up on the next attempt, he started taking out his frustration on Felton. With the overwhelming criticism of the previous sessions, Felton felt compelled to push, encourage, and direct his artist, in an effort to make sure he gave the very best he could. Settling for take two just wasn’t good enough for what Felton was looking for, and though they had to fight through a few more mistake-ridden takes to get there, by take six he knew he’d done the right thing.

"You Ask Me To" by Waylon Jennings, released on the album Honky Tonk Heroes in June 1973:

My favorite part of Elvis' cover of this song, and what gives it a noticeable difference from Waylon Jennings' original recording as you can notice, is the backing vocals added to the tune. I simply LOVE the female voices accompanying Elvis during the chorus.

On the other hand, one thing I'm not sure why it happened is the minor difference in the title between the original release and Elvis' recording. The original title, as written on the cover of Waylon Jennings' 1973 album is "You Ask Me To", but in Elvis' 1975 album it's written "You Asked Me To", which are also words in the lyrics anyway but the slight change in the title for the past tense form may be a little confusing for the ones noticing it. Below, Elvis' Promised Land LP back cover and Waylon Jennings' Honky Tonk Heroes LP back cover.

[ambrosesystem]

WEEZER. PART 1.

if you follow me, you have most likely (definitely) heard of the band weezer. and if you're reading this right now, you have heard of weezer 100% and have heard buddy holly once at the very least. and yeah. of course you have. since that's the most popular weezer song due to its success when it first released and recent internet memes.

now, for the very rare few who haven't heard of weezer:

weezer is a band from los angeles california. the band was formed in 1992 by rivers cuomo, patrick wilson, matt sharp, and jason cropper. although, the current members, (as of 2024), are rivers cuomo, patrick wilson, brian bell, and scott shriner. and me? im fucking obsessed with this band oh my god

what in the blue album weezering

the most popular weezer album huh...... the one that looks like buddy holly. the one with all of the memes associated with it. how did this album begin? why the fuck would rivers cuomo do this? is he okay? whale whale whale let me tell you dear child

the blue album, also known as weezer, which is weezers debut album, was released on may 10, 1994. the albums debut single is undone - the sweater song, which you have most likely heard of in some shape or form. although, despite the song gaining some success, many people had just seen the band as a gimmick or just some nerds. (to be fair, literally just look at them). after this, the band went: ok so uh. buddy holly becomes a single badabingbadaboom. along with this, there was a video directed by spike jonze (who also directed undone). the buddy holly music video is based off of the sitcom happy days from the 1970s by the way if youu somehow did not know. and boom . buddy holly AND weezer blew up . explosions everywhere babyyy. exploded so hard it won a mtv video music award.

wait a fucking second!!! how did rivers feel about this??!????!!!

my dear child good question. well, let's jusr say. he was not very much enjoyinf it. he couldn't tell if the success was due to the directing of the music video and the music video itself, or if it was the (great) songwriting. rivers did nottt wanna be seen as ironic.

oh! ok! new single alert!!! say it ain't so. this time, no directing done by the spike jonze guy. aaaannnd it was released as a single in 1995 this time. this music video? performed in a garage at the amherst house.

oh my fucking god its pinkerton what in the queer

pinkerton. second weezer album. very great very good. just like blue.

WAAIT A SECOND?? but... songs from the black hole...

to get into pinkerton, we gotta go over songs from the black hole first.. so yeag lets do that!

after the explosions and blowing up of weezer, rivers went: uh. yeah bro im just gonna do all the songwriting now. COMPLETE CONTROL THANKS. rivers also went: do i reallyyy wanna be a rockstar.... is this REALLY for me?

after that, due to rivers being a fan of madame butterfly and getting inspired by it, he wanted to work on his own opera. named, songs from the black hole. it would require each weezer member to be assigned a character. two temporary female vocalists. and it would need to be spacey and synthy.

now, there's wayyy more things about this project, but im not going to talk abt them today.

but hey, did you know rivers went to harvard? probably, probably not, who knows. while at harvard, he got WRITERS BLOCK~ SO FUN!!! anywyas. ego suffering. limping while walking to class. not fun.

ah, wait, but then he started to write some songs abt his experience at harvard! woag! yeag. theres a LOT more to this but i need to get to pinkerton NOW. that being said,

pinkerton. finally. new weezer album? how queer. guess we doing honesty and no gimmicks now.

early september. album almost finished. woohoo! oh wait. sued? because of the name? what the hell? oh. quickly got not sued. okok we good we chill.

lets go. new weezer album, released on september 24, 1996. oh? mostly negative and eh reviews? uhhh. ummm.. ah, first single el scorcho music video! also a flop????? some people said it was the "worst album of 1996"????? well fuck.

k what now? umm. re-record PINK TRIANGLE!!!!!!! (that song is very special to me for many reasons by the way). oh . ok. pibk traingel released as a radio promo disc.

well! this didn't go so well. now, the band is going separate ways to work on projects??!!?!? erm what the sigma or whatever the kids say

lets fast forward um. several years. we don't usually see pinkerton like they did back then huh. yeah. critics had decided to go back to pinkerton and finally went: holy shit this is good

and with that, the first two weezer albums were born. damn! okay. how do we feel about these albums today again?

now, many weezer fans consider these two albums to be great. with some minority STILL not liking pinkerton. now, despite its mediocre reception when it was released, it is mostly considered to be a masterpiece. now, what about the blue album? classic. every weezer fan has to listen to this album. it may not be everyones favorite, but it is definitely appreciated. its like a stepping stone, waiting for greater things to come. the blue album and pinkerton are definitely some of the most important weezer albums.

so. did you know i like weezer. also if you want even more info about these albumsw go watch youtueb videos and read shit thanks bye

[yoshihashismattebum]

For the music asks: 1, 17 and 20!

Thanks for the ask! 💙

1. A song you liked as a child

I grew up with the music taste of a 60 year old man, so I mostly listened to classical, Buddy Holly, Elvis, and Bruce Springsteen until my early teens. My tastes have expanded a fair bit since then (I'm a real Benjamin Button in terms of music preferences), but my love for Bruce has never waned. One of the greatest songwriters ever, imo. And as this song is all about the inexorable draw of nostalgia, it seemed quite fitting!

17. A cover song

A brass band/collective that does metal and rock covers sounds like it might just be a joke, but Brass Against are legitimately fantastic imo! Theirs is still one of the most fun, energetic, cathartic (and heaviest!) gigs I've ever been to. Plus they have an excellent activist ethos. This is one of my favourite Rage Against the Machine songs, but I think this cover might be even better than the original!

20. A song you’d put on a playlist for the person who sent you this ask

Ooh tricky! I'm going to go with some Allie X! I have no idea how generally well-known she is, so you may already know this (plus I know you listen to the radio and I don't :P ). But in case you don't, it's a super catchy pop banger off her latest album that also happens to be about top surgery and dysmorphia. Great lyrics, great tune, great to dance to. The whole album is fantastic imo! Well worth a listen!

[thebowerypresents]

Holly Humberstone – Brooklyn Steel – May 11, 2014

After putting out a pair of EPs and a slew of singles, pop singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone’s much-anticipated debut full-length, Paint My Bedroom Black, arrived last fall. And the monthlong North American tour in support of it, brought the talented English musician to a sold-out Brooklyn Steel on Saturday, her first of two nights at the venue.

Photos courtesy of Michelle Paradis | @michelleparadis_

[dreamsister81]

THE LEAP INTO LEGEND

By Holly George Warren via the Coda Collection, 2021

He was the man with a thousand voices — or so it appeared. I experienced Jeff Buckley live a few times — and that first night, in 1993, a Monday at tiny Café Sin-é across from my East Village apartment in New York, is forever seared in my brain. Not knowing anything about him beforehand, I sized him up as just another cute guy with a guitar. Nearly three decades later, it has become increasingly apparent that I have never seen — nor do I expect to see again — a vocalist so spookily gifted.

Jeff Buckley leaves behind a story that seems scripted from myth. He is the SoCal boy descended from an angel-throated folksinger (Tim Buckley) who had died of a drug overdose at 28, when Jeff was only 8. He comes of age poor, toils in obscurity as a metal-band guitarist, seemingly unaware of — or resistant to — that which percolates within him. Landing in New York in his early 20s, he uncorks a five-octave voice to rival his father’s, and writes bold, baroque rock songs — multi-tiered, Zeppelin-esque anthems and keening, sex-drenched romantic balladry. He delivers them, alongside a crazy quilt of diverse covers, with operatic skill placing him among (some would say above) Freddie Mercury and Robert Plant. The latter would become a fan, as would Bono, Bowie, Lou Reed, Chrissie Hynde and Elvis Costello. At the height of his quick fame, natural forces — i.e. the Mississippi River — take him from this world, in an incomprehensible, freak 1997 drowning in Memphis. He would leave behind one studio album, “Grace,” and join the galaxy of brilliant comets who died too young, like Nick Drake and Gram Parsons.

Back to that Monday night in ’93. My singer-songwriter husband shared the bill with a sweaty 26-year-old Jeff Buckley at our St. Mark’s “local” — an Irish tea-and-coffee place by day that served beer and wine at night to about 30 people who’d pass the hat for neighborhood troubadours. No stage, just a spot where a table was shoved aside from the brick wall. My spouse lent him his capo so Buckley could play John Cale’s version of Leonard Cohen’s not-yet-ubiquitous “Hallelujah.” In my memory, the songs preceding this ranged from Porter Wagoner’s “A Satisfied Mind” to a Duane Eddy riff to an Edith Piaf chanson (in French), delivered with both offhand skill and devil-may-care goofiness, as around a boozy campfire or in someone’s smoky living room. Then came “Hallelujah.”

The disarmingly supple voice kicked into gear, encompassing all the sexual yearning and spiritual quest of that tune. Owning it. Murmuring, crooning, unabashedly howling — sometimes all within one line. The room collectively swooned. Rather than milk the moment, as the last echoes of “Hallelujah” faded, Buckley jokily — albeit expertly — picked out the intro to “Stairway to Heaven,” stopping to chat with the audience mid-song.

This was his routine, apparently. Slay, then lower expectations. I wonder now if the intentionally amateurish aspects weren’t so much impish boy stuff, but rather Buckley discovering his superpowers in the moment, onstage. Freaked out, he’d step back from that ledge, not yet ready to fly. Maybe he knew his low-stakes obscurity — what he later called his “café days” — would be short-lived, something to be savored.

Sure enough, within months, limos lined St. Mark’s Place on Monday nights, crowds spilled out onto the sidewalk and we watched from our fire escape as Jeff Buckley was spirited away to the big leagues. It all seemed foretold.

The footage of Buckley performing two years later with bassist Mick Groøndahl, guitarist Michael Tighe and drummer Matt Johnson at Chicago’s Metro on May 13, 1995, is peak Buckley. “Grace” has been out nine months, with Buckley touring nonstop ever since. It shows in the band’s effortless mastery of its boss’ often challenging material — the whisper-to-a-scream “Mojo Pin,” the spellbinding drama of “So Real,” the delicate, pandemonium-inducing “Lilac Wine,” all tracks from his debut.

By now, Buckley is in full possession of his preternatural voice, or rather, it is in full possession of him. Falsetto here, purr there, and a wail sourced from the Sufi Qawwali devotional music he loves and champions. Buckley rarely moves far from his mic, concentrating his energy on singing and executing impressive guitar work. But by the last third of the set, fully on, he steps into abandon: an instrumental of his work-in-progress “Vancouver,” segueing into the Alex Chilton/Big Star cover, “Kanga Roo,” which finds him excitedly pogoing (like a kangaroo?); a full-throttle version of the MC5 gangbuster “Kick Out the Jams,” on which he’s joined at the mic by a stage-diving guitar tech. Unlike most rock artists, he ends the show not with the typical rave-up, but rather sends his band away and leaves the crowd agog with a solo “Hallelujah.”

Between songs throughout the set, he resembles that guy I first saw in ’93, joking, listening to requests, vulnerable, smiling at the ardor beyond the stage lights. He gracefully handles the enthusiastic yelling and passionate outcry from the packed house, only once telling an obnoxious guy to fuck off (which gets a big laugh). But whereas at Sin-é, Buckley made holding back a riveting thing to watch, at Metro, he fulfills the promise he’d shown. He steps to the edge, and he flies.

Jeff Buckley “Live in Chicago” Setlist

Dream Brother

Lover, You Should’ve Come Over

Mojo Pin

So Real

Last Goodbye

Eternal Life

Kick Out the Jams (MC5 cover)

Lilac Wine (James Shelton cover)

What Will You Say

Grace

Vancouver

Kanga Roo (Big Star cover)

Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover)

[frootyrooties]

Happy New Year to you!! ✨ Here’s to another year of loving our favorite hot men from the 70s and 80s lol. Speaking of hot men, I have listened to some of 10cc’s music and so far the songs I really like The Film of My Love, Speed Kills, and Headline Hustler. Their sound mostly reminds me of The Rolling Stones and The Who but they still manage bring new stuff to the table I think. I actually think the singer sounds a lot like Ringo Starr’s singing voice but that may just be me. So I read their bio on Spotify, too. So that Graham guy is quite the songwriter and wrote for other bands like The Yardbirds and The Hollies? I thought that was cool. By the way, I find Graham pretty attractive, too. Looks like they had one or two songs that became hits in America but that’s about it. From my understanding, being successful in America was like the holy grail for uk bands at this time. It they achieved that goal, they were on a very good track. When The Kinks got banned in the US, that seemed to hurt them a lot. Sadly for 10cc they didn’t stay popular in the US for long. But still, seven years is not bad at all. I know of bands that had much shorter life spans. It looks like they had a good run regardless. By the way, I’m curious about how you discovered them! Also, I’ve actually reblogged from you before the Secret Santa game! It was a post with two black and white pictures of Ray Davies. He’s just so..😍 I couldn’t resist. Anyways, talk to you later!

hello, dear. and a happy new year to you!! ✨

everything alright with your new year so far? and hey, here’s to another year of us loving these sensational 60s/70s men. they just don’t make them like they used to, do they?

while i may ogle at other 70s guys here and there, i cannot deny just how insufferable i am about that Eric Stewart. he is just..*chefs kiss* bellissimo!! the cherry on top. the icing on the cake. an absolute adonis. he just does it for me. no one like him really. and given that his birthday is on January 20th, and he is my soulmate sign aquarius, the gemini in me can’t help but make such a big fuss him around this time of year. a beautiful man, that Eric. i love him with all my heart.

Eric does have a Ringo way about him, doesn’t he? he is after all from Manchester, just across from The Beatles’ neck of the woods Liverpool. i really do feel like guys from Manchester and Liverpool have a certain charm about them that’s just so captivating, i can’t quite put my finger on it. anyway, i think part of the reason why i’m so attached to Eric is the fact that i feel like he is all four Beatles combined. he possesses Paul’s charming and cuddly persona, John’s wit and sensitive attitude, George’s humbleness and Ringo’s happy go lucky mindset. he is the entire package, what more could a girl want?

oh and don’t get me started on Graham. he is so charming, even in real life. i’ve seen him a couple times in concert and my goodness, he really has kept up his good looks all these years. good on him. what a talented fella too! after all, he did get his start on music arranging songs for those early British Invasion bands you mentioned. i think it’s brilliant, all the work he’s done.

it is such a pity that 10cc never made it in America. i’m sorry to say it but i blame it on the recording company they were signed into, who basically ended up gouging the poor boys for their money and did little to promote them in America. it has been said that they could’ve been much bigger, and be talked and raved about in the same way as The Beatles or Pink Floyd. but the management was the culprit for their demise. so sad, really but either way they were and still are such a brilliant little band.

and i am so happy you like all those 10cc tracks you mentioned, as they are my personal favourites as well! i recommend giving their Sheet Music and Deceptive Bends album a listen when you can. they won’t disappoint!

and my oh my, that Ray Davies..he turns heads doesn’t he? another beautiful guy along with his brother, David. as of recent though, i’ve been crushing heavily on Dave. i love how cheeky he is. little bugger, that one.

well it was really nice hearing from you again, darling. all the best to you in the new year. feel free to stop in anytime, always love chatting xx

[one-album-wonders]

The Greatest American Rock Star Tournament

A lot of new people have discovered the March Madness of American Rock Bands in the past couple of days and are reblogging and commenting on polls that closed some time ago.  I appreciate the energy, but unfortunately there’s also a lot of anger and threats directed at bands and the people who voted for them.  I propose redirecting that energy to our follow-up tournament for The Greatest American Rock Star!  Follow this blog and reblog this post so we can get as many voters as possible for the next tournament and hopefully avoid people being angry about it after the fact.

Here's the plan:

I’m making a list of solo rock performers from the United States (including artists who were born, naturalized, or just lived in the US for a long time).  The list is below the cut and currently has 312 artists.  I’m still accepting submissions but will cap it 320.

We're using the broadest definition of rock for the artists participating in this tournament. Genres and sub-genres will included acid rock, alternative rock, art rock, blues rock, country rock, dance music, doo-wop, electronic music, folk rock, funk, glam rock, grunge, heavy metal, hip hop, indie rock, industrial, new wave, pop, power pop, punk, rap, reggae, r&b, rock and roll, rockabilly, singer/songwriter, ska, soft rock, soul, surf music, yacht rock, and more! If you think an artist is "not rock" then the best thing you can do is not vote for them. Nobody wants to see your comments about how you think [artists name] is "not rock" and if you're too obnoxious about it you might get blocked.

For the first stage of the competition, artists will be in groups of 4 with other artists from the same decade.  Since many artists have multi-decade careers, I’m placing them in the decade when they first emerged as a popular recording artist, which is deliberately vague, and I may shift some artists around a bit to balance the groups.

Schedule:

April 3-10: Group Stage

Every day I will post 9 to 10 polls of groups of 4.  These polls will be open 7 days to allow them to get the most possible attention from Tumblr users.  Campaigning for favorite artists is encouraged. Vitriol directed at artists and especially at Tumblr users who vote for them is not, and may get you blocked.

April 17-20: The Winnowing

Artists who advanced from the group stage will be seeded for head to head, one day polls against other artists who participated in groups whose polls started on the same day.

April 27-May 10: Bracket

All surviving artists will be placed into a bracket for head-to-head matchups lasting one day each.

"Weird Al" Yankovic

50 Cent

Aaron Neville

Afrika Bambaataa

Akon

Al Green

Al Jarreau

Albert King

Alice Cooper

Alicia Keys

Angel Olsen

Aretha Franklin

Ariana Grande

B.B. King

Bad Bunny

Barry White

Beck

Belinda Carlisle

Ben E. King

Bernie Worrell

Bette Midler

Beyonce

Big Daddy Kane

Big Joe Turner

Big Mama Thornton

Bill Haley

Bill Withers

Bille Joe Armstrong

Billie Eilish

Billy Joel

Billy Preston

Bo Diddley

Bob Dylan

Bob Mould

Bob Seger

Bobbie Gentry

Bobby "Blue" Bland

Bobby Darrin

Bobby Womack

Bonnie Raitt

Bootsy Collins

Brandi Carlile

Brenda Lee

Brian Wilson

Brittany Howard

Bruce Springsteen

Bruno Mars

Buddy Guy

Buddy Holly

Busta Rhymes

Cardi B

Carl Perkins

Carlos Santana

Carly Simon

Carole King

Cat Power

Chaka Khan

Chance the Rapper

Cher

Chris Cornell

Chris Isaak

Chuck Berry

Chuck Willis

Clyde McPhatter

Common

Conway Twitty

Coolio

Curtis Mayfield

Cyndi Lauper

DaBaby

D'Angelo

Danger Mouse

Darlene Love

David Byrne

David Crosby

David Lee Roth

Debbie Harry

Del Shannon

Diana Ross

Dick Dale

Dion

Dionne Warwick

DMX

Dolly Parton

Don Henley

Donna Summer

Dr. Dre

Dr. John

Duane Eddy

Eddie Cochran

Eddie Money

Elvis Presley

Eminem

Erykah Badu

Esther Phillips

Etta James

Everlast

Fats Domino

Fetty Wap

Fiona Apple

Flo Rida

Frank Ocean

Frank Zappa

Future

Gary Clark Jr.

Gary Puckett

Gene Pitney

Gene Vincent

George Clinton

Ghostface Killah

Glen Frey

Gloria Estefan

Gloria Gaynor

Gram Parsons

Gregg Allman

Gwen Stefani

Halsey

Hank Ballard

Harry Nilsson

Howlin' Wolf

Ice Cube

Ice-T

Iggy Pop

Ike Turner

Irma Thomas

Isaac Hayes

J Dilla

J. Cole

Jack White

Jackie Wilson

Jackson Browne

Jadakiss

James Brown

James Ingram

James Taylor

Jane Wiedlin

Janelle Monae

Janet Jackson

Janis Joplin

Jason Derulo

Jason Mraz

Jay-Z

Jeff Buckley

Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Lopez

Jenny Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis

Jill Sobule

Jim Croce

Jimi Hendrix

Jimmy Reed

Joan Baez

Joe Tex

Joe Walsh

John Fogerty

John Lee Hooker

John Legend

John Mellencamp

John Prine

John Sebastian

Johnny Ace

Johnny Cash

Johnny Winter

Jon Bon Jovi

Joni Mitchell

Josh Groban

Juice WRLD

Juliana Hatfield

Justin Timberlake

Kanye West

Katy Perry

Kelly Clarkson

Kendrick Lamar

Kenny Loggins

Kesha

Kid Rock

Kim Carnes

Kurtis Blow

Lady Gaga

Lana Del Rey

Laura Nyro

Lauryn Hill

Lavern Baker

Lenny Kravitz

Levon Helm

Lil Baby

Lil Kim

Lil Nas X

Lil Wayne

Linda Rondstadt

Lindsey Buckingham

Link Wray

Lionel Richie

Lisa Loeb

Little Richard

Little Willie John

Liz Phair

Lizzo

LL Cool J

Lloyd Price

Lorraine Ellison

Lou Reed

Lucinda Williams

Ludacris

Luke Bryan

Madlib

Madonna

Mariah Carey

Marvin Gaye

Mary J. Blige

Mary Wells

MC Lyte

Meat Loaf

Meg Myers

Megan Thee Stallion

Meghan Trainor

Melissa Etheridge

Meredith Brooks

Method Man

MF Doom

Michael Jackson

Michael McDonald

Miles Davis

Miley Cyrus

Missy Eliot

Mitski

Moby

Muddy Waters

Nancy Sinatra

Nas

Neil Diamond

Neko Case

Nina Simone

Otis Redding

P!nk

Pat Benatar

Patti Smith

Paul Simon

Paul Westerberg

Paula Cole

Percy Sledge

Pharrell Williams

Phil Ochs

Philp Bailey

Phoebe Bridgers

Pitbull

Post Malone

Prince

Queen Latifah

Randy Newman

Ray Charles

Richie Havens

Rick Derringer

Rick Springfield

Ricky Nelson

Ritchie Valens

Rob Zombie

Roger McGuinn

Ronnie Spector

Roy Orbison

Ruth Brown

Ryan Adams

Sam Cooke

Sammy Hagar

Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Selena Gomez

Sharon Van Etten

Shawn Colvin

Sheb Wooley

Sheila E.

Sheryl Crow

Sly Stone

Smokey Robinson

Snoop Dogg

Solomon Burke

St. Vincent

Stephen Stills

Steve Earle

Steve Miller

Steve Perry

Steve Van Zandt

Stevie Nicks

Stevie Ray Vaughn

Stevie Wonder

Sufjan Stevens

Suzanne Vega

Taylor Swift

The Big Bopper

The Notorious B.I.G.

The Weeknd

Timbaland

Tina Turner

Todd Rundgren

Tom Petty

Tom Waits

Tori Amos

Townes Van Zandt

T-Pain

Tracy Bonham

Tracy Chapman

Travis Scott

Tupac Shakur

Usher

Wanda Jackson

Warren Zevon

Waylon Jennings

Whitney Houston

Willie Nelson

Wilson Picket

Wiz Khalifa

Wyclef Jean

Yasiin Bey (Mos Def)

[classicrockblog1]

Donald “Don” McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an #singer #songwriter best known for the 1971 #album American Pie, containing the #songs “American Pie” and “Vincent”.

McLean’s magnum opus, “American Pie”, is a sprawling, impressionistic ballad inspired partly by the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. The song popularized the expression “The Day the Music Died” in reference to this event.[2]

The song was recorded on May 26, 1971, and a month later received its first radio airplay on New York’s WNEW-FM and WPLJ-FM to mark the closing of Fillmore East, the famous New York concert hall. “American Pie” reached number one on the Hot 100from 15 January - 5 February 1972 and remains McLean’s most successful single release. The single also topped theBillboardEasy Listening survey. With a total running time of 8:36 encompassing both sides of the single, it is also the longest song to reach No. 1. Some stations played only part one of the original split-sided single release.

[neeseeart]

Today's drawing music:

Device - 22B3 (1986)

This is one of my favorite albums ever. One song isn't enough to give you an idea. This whole album is unskippable. Device has such a solid, sensual sound that no other group can fully match. They're sort of a supergroup. You may know the lead singer Paul Engemann from his song Push It To The Limit, from Scarface. Holly Knight is a songwriting icon who's written more bangers than I can handle(look her up!). It's awful that they only have one album together, but what an album it is 🥲

[mywifeleftme]

73: Bobby Fuller // Best of the Bobby Fuller Four

Best of the Bobby Fuller Four Bobby Fuller 1981, Rhino

Bobby Fuller’s story has been told many, many times, but I don’t mind telling it again because Bobby Fuller was one of the greatest almosts in rock history. At the time of his, ehh uhh, suspicious death in 1966 at the age of 23, he might’ve been the most vital artist in traditional rock and roll. Fuller picked up the torch from its dead (Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Eddie Cochrane) or washed up (nearly everyone else) heroes and, in the prime of the Beach Boys, Byrds, and (gestures broadly) British Invasion, cut roughly 25 tracks that proved there was still real magic remaining in the Cadillac Chuck Berry built.

Fuller was both an ingenious studio rat and a rock true believer—accounts describe innovative home recording set-ups, even as he refused to use any studio overdubs his band could not reproduce live. He thought it crucial that the Bobby Fuller Four concert experience match record listeners’ expectations, a conviction reinforced by the fervor their performances built among fans in his home city of El Paso. Rock and roll’s “big beat” was what initially drove teens crazy, and on Fuller rockers the drums are at least as loud as the guitars—listen to the rawhide anthem “Never to Be Forgotten” in stereo and notice how the drums basically get an entire channel to themselves while the rest of the instruments clowncar into the other. With Bobby’s almost mariachi-like guitar attack leading the way, the Four were as galvanizing a rhythm combo as the mid-‘60s had to offer.

“Let Her Dance,” Fuller’s first regional success, is the purest hit of rock feelgood I know. It is two-and-a-half-minutes of climax, thanks to a relentlessly circular riff that seems to gather force by recycling energy back into itself—as if a Shepard tone were catchy. There’s a description of Heaven in the last of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books as “further up and further in,” a joyful running you can do forever without tiring. That’s what this song is, and I can never listen to it just once, or even twice.

Equally essential is “I Fought the Law,” the song for which Fuller will forever be remembered. “I Fought the Law” began life as a number by the first post-Buddy iteration of the Crickets, penned by Holly’s replacement Sonny Curtis. The rhythm perfectly evokes telephone poles and cactuses whipping by the passenger window of a muscle car roaring through the desert, adorable harmonies not quite obscuring the fact that the chain-ganged narrator doesn’t regret breaking the law—just getting caught.

By the time “I Fought the Law” had caught on as a national hit (eventually peaking at #9 on the Hot 100), the Bobby Fuller Four had assembled an array of bangers, from quavering Holly-esque kiss-off “Only When I Dream” to acoustic jamboree “Saturday Night” (which I’m convinced Paul Simon bit for “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard!”). The two LPs released during Fuller’s short lifetime, 1965’s oddball radio station cash-in KRLA King of the Wheels and 1966’s I Fought the Law, are mostly hodgepodged from these contemporaneous singles and have a bunch of overlap, which means there isn’t a ton of difference between them and later compilations like this 1981 entry from Rhino Records (Finally, you’re thinking).

Best of the Bobby Fuller Four is practically a reissue of I Fought the Law, with “Julie,” “A New Shade of Blue,” “You Kiss Me,” “Little Annie Lou,” and “Take My Word” swapped out for the dopey title track from King of the Wheels and later recordings “Love’s Made a Fool of You” (passable retread of “I Fought the Law”), “The Magic Touch” (pretty good stab at Motown/Spencer Davis Group), “It’s Love, Come What May” (a mid-tempo gem composed by Bobby’s brother Randy), “Don’t Ever Let Me Know” (a wistful Everlys-style number), “My True Love” (a hint psychedelia might’ve looked alright on Bobby), and “I’m a Lucky Guy” (an alright R&B tune by some hired gun songwriters one senses Fuller had his arm twisted into recording). That’s a fairly even trade, save for the omission of “A New Shade of Blue,” Fuller’s greatest ballad and a song that should by all rights have become a standard.

As is usually the case with vinyl compilations, Best of the Bobby Fuller Four has been supplanted by more comprehensive CD-era treatments, of which the three-disc Never to Be Forgotten: The Mustang Years (1997) remains definitive. With that said, Best of shows the typical care Rhino put into their reissues, including a hidden track: a commercial for LA’s KHJ radio station that swaps the words to “I Fought the Law” out for an ad read about their summer Big Kahuna ad campaign. It’s a nice nod to some of the boneheaded schemes Fuller’s producer Bob Keane of Del-Fi Records came up with to help break his young star:

“Keane came up with a succession of dumb marketing ideas for the group: a single released as the Shindigs to secure a slot on the music TV show Shindig!; a drag racing-themed debut long-player, branded with the name of the Los Angeles radio station KRLA; a cameo in The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini—a goofy beach party movie starring Boris Karloff – lip-synching to songs behind Nancy Sinatra.” — Chris Campion in The Guardian

Ultimately, Fuller would be found dead in his mother’s Oldsmobile, allegedly at his own hand. The Guardian story I linked to above offers a good synopsis of the reasons for doubt, laying out a plausible hypothesis that he might’ve been done in following a business disagreement with the notoriously mobbed up Morris Levy of Roulette Records, who had just signed a distribution agreement with Keane’s label. At 23, Fuller was already long in the tooth compared to his idols Holly, Valens, and Cochrane at the time of their own deaths; but by any other yardstick, he was a painfully young man of remarkable drive and ability, who stood as good a chance as anyone at presenting an American answer to Britain’s mid-‘60s dominance over white R&B.

73/365

[cbjustmusic]

JD McPherson’s Christmas song “Socks”. ___________ Socks Songwriters: Jason Smay, JD Mcpherson, Ray Jacildo, Doug Corcoran and James E Sutton

Early Christmas morning Sneaky as can be I creep across the carpet And I peek under the tree Pick out a gift from Mom to me And bring it to my ear Give it a little shimmy shake and what do I hear? Socks (Tuuuuube socks) This is the worst gift I ever got It doesn't beep or buzz or bop or rattle in the box Hey, why'd you waste the paper on a lousy pair of socks? Tiptoe to the mantle A scowl upon my brow I reach up to my stocking Hanging from a holly bough I reach right in and feel around For Santa Claus' loot But all I find is something there to insulate my boots Socks (Kneeeeee high) Santa how could you let me down? It doesn't slip or slide or spring or make a sound that rocks Hey, why'd you stuff my stocking with a lousy pair of socks?

Moms and Dads across the land Be careful what you do Your girls and boys might ball 'em up and toss 'em back at you And next time when ol' Santa comes, and the evening's getting late Instead of milk and cookies I may leave upon his plate Socks (Argyle???) This is the worst gift I ever got It doesn't beep or buzz or bop or rattle in the box Why'd you waste that paper on a lousy pair of socks?

[readingforsanity]

A Haunting on the Hill | Elizabeth Hand | Published 2023 | *SPOILERS*

From three-time Shirley Jackson, World Fantasy, and Nebula Award-winning author Elizabeth Hand comes the first-ever authorized novel to return to the world of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House: a suspenseful, contemporary, and terrifying story of longing and isolation all its own.

Holly Sherwin has been a struggling playwright for years, but now, after receiving a grant to develop her play, The Witch of Edmonton, she may finally be close to her big break. All she needs is time and space to bring her vision to life. When she stumbles across Hill House on a weekend getaway upstate, she is immediately taken in by the ornate, if crumbling, gothic mansion, nearly hidden outside a remote village. It's enormous, old, and ever-so-eerie - the perfect place to develop and rehearse her play.

Despite her own hesitations, Holly's girlfriend, Nisa, agrees to join Holly in renting the house out for a month, and soon a troupe of actors, each with ghosts of their own, arrive. Yet as they settle in, the house's peculiarities are made known: strange creatures stalk the grounds, disturbing sounds echo throughout the halls, and time itself seems to shift. All too soon, Holly and her friends find themselves at odds not just with one another, but with the house itself. It seems something has been waiting in Hill House all these years, and it no longer intends to walk alone.

Holly Sherwin has waited what feels like a lifetime to get her big break as a playwright. She has spent countless hours attempting to come up with a decent enough play, and it isn't until finding a 17-century copy of a play about a witched named Elizabeth. With the help of her singer-songwriter girlfriend, Nisa, and close friend Stevie, in addition to getting a retired actress to come play the lead part, Witching Night is going to be Holly's big break.

While visiting friends, Holly stumbles across a large mansion set off way in the hills of a small town called Hillside in upstate New York. Speaking with real estate agent and the owner of the aptly named Hill House, a woman named Ainsley, Holly arranges to rent the home for two weeks in order for them all to work on the play, using the money she received from a theater grant in order to get the play up and running.

At the end of September, the four thespians make their way to Hillside, ready and prepared to begin working on the play that Holly has worked so hard on. Despite warnings from several others regarding the house, Holly is optimistic that this short-term rental is going to help them get everything they need for the play.

But, from the second the four of them walk into the house, strange things begin to occur. Stevie finds a mysteriously tiny door in his room, something he continues to be attracted to the more he attempts to ignore. Holly, along with the others, have noticed large black hares roaming the woods around the property, oftentimes the hares standing straight up on their hind legs, becoming so large and ominous that Holly is sure it's an omen.

But, they all quickly realize that they should have heeded that warning, as Hill House comes alive and devours one of them. When Nisa finds Stevie attempting to get into that tiny door, she becomes enamored by it as well and after a particularly scary moment with the hares banging and knocking on the doors and windows in an attempt to get inside, something they aren't imagining at all, Nisa runs upstairs to find out what he had discovered.

Nisa ends up inside the tunnel, but when she finds herself stuck inside with no way out, the others find themselves looking for her. They find her inside of the nursery, an ominous room that had given them a problem earlier that day, and a recording Stevie had taken had heard voices that they didn't hear with their ears while inside. Amanda and Stevie help each other with saving Holly, all the while being unable to save Nisa.

As the years go on, Holly, Amanda and Stevie continue their work on the play, while NIsa is an officially a missing person. Despite only remaining in the house a short-time, Ainsley decides to refund the money that Holly had paid, stating that she had tried to warn them, but Holly understands that there was nothing she could have done to stop herself from renting the house.

The play is eventually picked up, dedicated in the memory of NIsa, and the three friends no longer discuss what happened at Hill House, but they know that it's waiting...slowly biding it's time until it can claim its next victim.

[radiomaxmusic]

July 5, 2024: 1am ET: Feature LP: Don McLean - American Pie (1971)

American Pie is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Don McLean, released by United Artists Records in October 1971. The folk rock album reached number one on the Billboard 200, containing the chart-topping singles “American Pie” and “Vincent”. Recorded in May and June 1971 at The Record Plant in New York City, the LP is dedicated to Buddy Holly, and was reissued in 1980 minus…

[my-chaos-radio]

Release: May 29, 1984

Lyrics:

Oh yeah!

A prisoner of your love

Entangled in your web

Hot whispers in the night

I'm captured by your spell (captured)

I'm touched by this show of emotion

Should I be fractured by your lack of devotion?

Should I? Ah!

Should I?

Oh, you better be good to me

That's how it's gotta be now

'Cause I don't have no use

You loosely call the truth

You better be good to me

You better be good, yeah

I think it's all so right

We don't need to fight

We stand face to face

You present your case

I know you keep telling me that you love me

And I really do wanna believe

Did you think I'd just accept you in blind faith?

Sure babe, , anything to please you!

But you better be good to me

That's how it's gotta be now

Oh, I don't have the time

For your overloaded lines

You better be good to me

Better be good, oh, good to me

And I really don't see why it's so hard to be

Good to me, and you know, and you know

I don't understand what's your plan

That you can't be so good to me

It's not real, I do not wish to see

Can't be like so good to me

What ain't real, I do not wish to see

Can't be, be good to me

Be good to me

Can't be like be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Be good to me, oh no

For what you loosely call the truth

Oh, I don't have the time

For your overloaded lines

You better be good

Better be good

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't you be good to me?

Can't you be good to me?

Ooh, be good to me

Ooh, be good to me

Ooh, be good to me

Ooh-ooh, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Ooh, be good to me

Ooh-ooh, be good to me

Can't you be good to me?

Can't you be good to me?

Songwriter:

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

(Ooh) be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me

Oh, can't be, be good to me

Can't be, be good to me, oh

Michael Donald Chapman / Holly Knight / Nicholas Barry Chinn

SongFacts:

👉📖

Homepage:

Tina Turner